/uxS' 


Z  ; 


Scriptural  Giving. 


.  .  BY  .  . 

M.  RHODES, 

Pastor  St.  Mark’s  Evangelical  Lntlieran  Cliurcli, 

ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


— 180S. 


St.  lyOUis,  Mo. 

Aug.  Wiebusch  &  Son  Printing  Company. 


SCRIPTURAL  GIVING. 


Leviticus2^\  30,32.  And  all  the  tithe  of  the  land,  whethef 
of  the  seed  of  the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the 
Lord’s :  it  is  holy  unto  the  Lord.  And  concerning  the  tithe  of 
the  herd,  or  of  the  flock,  even  of  whatsoever  passeth  under 
the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord. 

Malachi  j:  8 — 10,  Will  a  man  rob  God.^  Yet  ye  have  robbed 
me.  But  ye  say,  wherein  have  we  robbed  thee  ?  In  tithes  and 
offerings.  Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse:  for  ye  have  robbed 
me,  even  this  whole  nation.  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the 
storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove 
me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open 
you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing, 
that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it. 

2.  7.  Therefore,  asye  abound  in  everything, 

in  faith,  and  utterance,  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  diligence, 
and  in  your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also. 

2.  Corinthians  g\  y,  8,  ii — 13.  Every  man  according  as  he 
purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give;  not  grudgingly,  or  of 
necessity:  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.  And  God  is  able 
to  make  all  grace  abound  toward  you,  that  ye,  always  having 
all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  may  abound  to  every  good  work. 
Being  enriched  in  every  thing  to  all  bountifulness,  which 
causeth  through  us  thanksgiving  to  God.  For  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  this  service  not  only  supplieth  the  want  of  the 
saints,  but  is  abundant  also  by  many  thanksgivings  unto  God  ; 
while  by  the  experiment  of  this  ministration  they  glorify 
God  for  your  professed  subjection  unto  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
and  for  your  liberal  distribution  unto  them,  and  unto  all  men. 


—  3  — 


The  writer  has  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  one  of 
the  great  themes  of  the  Gospel  is  the  grace  of  giving. 
That  the  Church  should  have  remained  so  long  in 
strange  misapprehension  of  the  nature,  importance 
and  truly  spiritual  power  of  this  beautiful  grace, 
may  well  excite  our  wonder.  It  underlies  the  whole 
purpose  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  Scriptural  giving 
is  one  of  the  throbbing  centres  of  Christian  life,  its 
joy  and  power.  The  whole  trend  of  Scripture  teach¬ 
ing,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  those  who  have 
learned  the  mind  of  God  on  this  subject,  fully  war¬ 
rants  what  will  seem  to  many  extravagant  speech 
upon  it. 

The  Church  has  greatly  advanced  in  the  measure 
of  its  giving,  but  it  has  not  yet  attained  to  an  ade¬ 
quate  standard,  and  it  is  shorter  still  in  the  knowledge 
of  true  Scriptural  giving.  The  coming  needed  revival 
is  a  revival  in  the  motive  and  method  of  giving. 
Wrong  giving,  no  less  than  no  giving,  helps  to  dry 
up  the  springs  of  spiritual  life  in  the  heart  and  in  the 
Church.  We  have  always  limited  this  grace.  We 
have  said  it  is  the  dwarf  among  the  graces,  if  it  be  a 
grace  at  all ;  we  have  not  thought  to  give  it  propor¬ 
tionate  place  with  faith  and  love,  not  even  with  our 
secular,  social  and  wordly  indulgences. 

Whatever  may  be  the  method  adopted,  whether  it 
be  the  Old  Testament  law  of  tithing,  or  the  fuller 
measure  designated  in  the  New  Testament  by  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  blessing,  it  is  plain  that  this  is  the  grace  in 
which  we  are  to  ‘ ‘abound. 


^  4  _ 

Don’t  minimize  it ;  don’t  put  it  back  in  a  corner ; 
don’t  blush  it  hy  confusion  in  the  face  and  pretext 
in  the  speech  when  opportunity  offers.  Make  it  apos¬ 
tolic,  a  light,  a  blessed  music  bursting  toward  the 
heavens.  God-like —  “abound  in  it !”  There  is  not  a 
syllable  in  God’s  Word  to  encourage  our  shyness 
about  it,  as  if  it  were  too  sensitive  for  our  meddling. 
The  supreme  difficulty  in  the  Church,  local  and  gen¬ 
eral,  at  least  with  the  many,  is  lack  of  knowledge  and 
obedience  of  Scripture  truth  upon  it.  Here  the  min¬ 
istry  is  much  to  blame. 

The  theology  of  money  and  the  Gospel  of  giving 
have  yet  to  be  taught  and  understood  in  many  of  our 
churches.  The  times  in  which  we  are  living  have  most 
forcibly  taught  and  illustrated  the  power  and  abuse 
of  money.  God  said  to  his  ancient  people  and  has  al¬ 
ways  been  saying  to  us  of  this  larger  day — “Thou 
shalt  remember  the  Lord  thy  God,  for  it  is  he  that 
giveth  thee  power  to  get  wealth.”  Deut.  8\  i8. 
This  is  the  Old  Testament  way  of  teaching  steward¬ 
ship.  The  money ^s  God’s.  Enterprise  and  labor  and 
commerce,  and  genius  and  skill,  and  art  and  science, 
the  earth  and  the  sea  are  ail  God’s.  Recognition  of 
this  truth  lies  at  the  base  of  all  proper  and  successful 
living. 

Israel  denied  this,  robbed  God  in  tithes  and  of¬ 
ferings,  dethroned  him  in  things  secular  and  perished. 
It  is  a  marked  feature  in  the  lives  of  a  multitude  to¬ 
day.  They  do  not  all  refuse  to  give,  but  they  give 
stintedly,  as  they  will,  and  not  as  God  asks  them  to 


—  5  — 


give.  The  giving  is  not  a  grace,  not  a  joy,  not  an  act 
of  trust  and  obedience,  and  so  it  is  without  blessing. 
Practically  it  is  independence,  perversion,  atheism. 
In  such  a  spirit  Israel  said:  “I  will  go  after  my  lov¬ 
ers,  that  give  me  my  bread  and  my  water,  my  wool 
and  my  flax,  wine,  oil  and  my  drink.’’  That  was  ex¬ 
pelling  God  from  the  secular  side  of  life. 

“Therefore,  behold,  I  will  hedge  thy  way  with 
thorns,  and  make  a  wall  that  she  shall  not  find  her 
paths  —  he  or  she  did  not  know  that  I  gave  her  corn, 
and  wine,  and  oil,  and  multiplied  her  silver  and  gold, 
which  they  prepared  for  Israel.’*  Hosea  2:  y,  <5,  8. 
We  may  venture  to  do  as  we  will,  but  all  the  more 
will  the  day  of  reckoning  come. 

How  imperative  is  the  necessity  to-day  to  rescue 
our  busy,  secular,  absorbing  life  from  its  abandonment 
of  God  and  bring  it  back  to  the  sincerest  study  of 
and  submission  to  God’s  Word.  Who  among  us  would 
venture  to  cross  the  Atlantic  with  a  captain  who  in 
his  self-wisdom  had  thrown  his  compass  into  the  sea 
and  had  determined  to  brave  the  elements  and  trust  to 
his  wits?  Have  not  many  done  it  even  in  their  at¬ 
tempt  at  Christian  living,  with  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  Holy  Spirit?  Then,  we  have  wondered  why  God 
did  not  bless  us  and  why  the  Church  did  not  prosper 
more?  If  we  have  no  use  for  God’s  Spirit  to  enlighten 
and  God’s  Word  to  direct,  what  claim  have  we  on 
God  for  his  blessing?  If  we  have  taken  life,  the 
management  of  affairs,  the  disposition  of  God’s  daily 
bounty,  the  determination  of  what  is  duty,  all  into 


6  — 


our  own  blundering  hands,  we  can  certainly  only  ex¬ 
pect  the  results  which  inevitably  follow  disobedience 
and  mistrust.  There  is  certainly  no  grace  which  so 
entirely  involves  the  inner  life,  the  deepest  soul  of  a 
man,  as  this  blessed  grace  of  giving.  On  this  ac¬ 
count,  it  should  be  a  subject  of  frequent  discourse  ;  it 
should  always  be  in  the  practice,  and  more  frequently 
in  the  preaching  of  God’s  ministers.  God’s  people 
should  not  be  left  to  their  own  understanding  in  this 
matter,  for  a  knowledge  and  a  hearty  acceptance  of 
Scriptural  giving  is  a  corrective  of  all  those  evils  and 
hindrances,  which  render  a  growing  spiritual,  useful, 
joyous  Christian  life  impossible. 

Scripture  Teaching. 

Our  first  need  is  to  recover  the  delightful  privi¬ 
lege  and  grace  of  giving  from  the  low  common-place 
and  unscriptural  position  it  has  so  long  occupied  in 
the  habit  and  thought  of  so  many.  It  must  be  taken 
up  from  the  low  plane  of  secular  notion  and  barter,  pf 
accommodation  and  cold  optional  service,  as  if  it  were 
bestowing  a  favor  on  the  Lord,  instead  of  discharging 
a  sacred  obligation,  an  act  of  worship,  just  as  much  a 
dut}^  and  privilege  as  prayer  and  holy  living,  the  read¬ 
ing  of  God’s  Word,  and  listening  to  sermons,  are  a 
duty  and  a  privilege. 

How  mistaken  and  hurtful  the  sensativeness  of 
many  of  God’s  people  respecting  the  Gospel  of  giving 
as  if  it  were  an  intruder  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary.  Instead,  it  lies  at  the  very 


—  7  — 


heart  of  redemption  and  of  all  Christian  ministry,  and 
of  Christian  character  and  life.  Giving  is  God’s  or¬ 
dination.  The  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
have  to  do  with  it.  He  who  gives  in  the  spirit  and  af¬ 
ter  the  manner  God  enjoins,  does  the  divinest  of 
things,  and  furnishes  the  most  forceful  interpretation 
of  his  grace,  who  is  the  “unspeakable  gift.” 

God’s  people  should  think  no  more  of  having  an 
opportunity  placed  before  them  to  give,  than  they 
now  do  of  an  opportunity  to  sing  a  hymn,  offer  a 
prayer,  or  listen  to  the  preaching  of  God’s  Word.  It 
will  be  so  in  the  better  coming  day,  when  the  spirit¬ 
ual  life  of  the  Church  is  quickened,  and  God’s  people 
become  familiar  with  the  Gospel  of  giving.  The  time 
has  come  to  preach  a  good  deal  on  stewardship,  on 
tithing,  and  tiieir  relation  to  Christian  life  and  duty. 
Failure  here  is  failure  all  around.  Wrong  views  of 
and  wrong  methods  and  a  wrong  spirit  in  giving,  are 
responsible  for  very  much  of  the  looseness  in  faith, 
spiritual  death  and  indifference  which  hinder  the 
Church  to-day.  I  heartily  commend  and  believe  in 
the  law  of  tithing,  the  conscientious  habitual,  placing 
of  one  tenth  of  all  income  from  whatever  source,  on 
God’s  altar,  strictly  for  his  use.  Before  Isaac  was 
born,  or  the  founding  of  the  Hebrew  Theocracy,  Abra¬ 
ham,  “the  friend  of  God,  the  father  of  the  faithful, 
paid  tithes”  to  Melchisadec  the  priest  of  the  Most 
High  God,  the  prototype  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
That  is  a  great  light  out  of  the  deep  darkness  Of  the 
beginning,  and  the  blessing  of  it  goes  on  like  a  hymn 


—  8  — 


of  childhood,  whose  music  stays  with  us.  See,  how  a 
good  thing  affects,  and  is  imitated  by  the  generations. 
“Jacob,”  the  grand-son  of  Abraham,  before  the  giv¬ 
ing  of  the  law,  “vowed  a  vow,  saying.  If  God  will  be 
with  me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will  give  me  bread 
to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I  come  again  to 
my  father’s  house  in  peace ;  then  shall  the  Lord  be  m}^ 
God ;  and  this  stone  which  I  have  set  up  for  a  pillar, 
shall  be  God’s  house ;  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give 
me,  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee.”  Gen.  28 : 
20 — 22.  That  is  beautiful  as  a  poem,  spiritual  enough 
to  be  chanted  in  the  heavens.  Here  is  promise,  wor¬ 
ship,  gratitude,  a  holy  covenant,  the  assuring  seal  of 
one  tenth  to  the  Lord.  What  sanctity  and  blessedness 
it  gives  to  the  grace  of  giving !  Let  us  go  on. 

“And  all  the  tithes  of  the  land,  whether  of  the  seed 
of  the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord’s; 
it  is  holy  unto  the  Lord,  And  concerning  the  tithe 
of  the  herd  or  of  the  flock,  even  of  whatsoever  pass- 
eth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the 
Lord,”  Lev,  27:  3.0 — 32.  Moses  will  see  to  it  that 
God  has  his  due,  and  for  a  reason  that  fully  justifies 
the  demand.  He  wishes  to  avert  God’s  curse  and 
make  sure  of  his  blessing.  How  happened  it  later 
with  Israel?  “Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse;  for  ye 
have  robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation.  Wherein 
have  we  robbed  thee  ?  In  tithes  and  offerings.”  Mai, 
3: 8—9. 

'  Moses  makes  it  plain  that  this  requirement  is  no‘ 
charity,  it  is  God’s  right,  “it  is  the  Lord’s.”  The 


9 


very  same  principle  with  the  enlarged  privilege  of  free 
will  offerings  holds  now,  and  if  adopted  sincerely,  it 
would  revolutionize  the  commerce  of  the  world,  bring 
the  method  of  the  Church  of  Christ  into  harmony  with  the 
DivineWord,and  assure  a  blessing  to  God’s  needy  cause, 
to  the  ministry,  to  our  own  homes  and  lives  greater 
than  any  we  have  known  since  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

I  do  not  hold  that  the  tithe  is  the  limit  or  meas¬ 
ure  of  our  giving.  It  is  the  minimum  of  privilege, 
not  the  maximum.  It  is  a  law  of  giving  the  measure  of 
which  a  growing  number  have  accepted,  some  have 
overreached,  but  a  very  much  larger  number  among  us, 
many  of  them  blessed  with  ample  means,  have  never  at¬ 
tained  to  it.  Besides  all  this,  Israel,  as  we  should,  gave 
free  will  offerings.  The  temple  and  the  tabernacle  were 
built  with  these,  and  when  the  temple  was  to  be  re¬ 
paired  as  in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  the  offer¬ 
ings  were  all  of  this  latter  kind.  Let  us  first  get  to 
the  tenth,  cheerfully,  truthfully,  prayerfully,  and  you 
may  rely  upon  it,  the  heart  will  do  the  rest.  In  those 
limited  days  when  the  blessings  of  the  people  in  every 
way  were  far  below  ours,  this  grace  of  giving  was 
esteemed  an  honor  and  a  privilege. 

“But  who  am  I  and  what  are  my  people  that  we 
should  be  able  to  offer  so  willingly  after  this  sort ; 
for  all  things  are  of  thee  and  of  thine  own  have  we 
given  thee. — O  Lord  our  God,  all  this  store  that  we 
have  prepared  to  build  thee  an  house  for  thy  holy 
name,  cometh  of  thine  hand  and  all  is  thine'own.” 
7.  Chron.  2g :  14 — 16, 

The  tithe  law  suggests  some  special  advantages ; 


—  10 


First  of  all  though  it  is  a  command  under  the  law,  it 
is  the  direct  appointment  and  plan  of  God  on  which 
he  covenants  to  bestow  blessing. 

In  the  second  place  it  brings  one  very  close  to 
God.  We  feel  that  we  must  maintain  our  contract, 
and  we  always  have  the  assurance  that  only  blessing 
can  come  of  it.  I  am  sure,  tithing  is  Scripture  giving 
and  that  it  is  always  safe.  There  is  no  testimony  of 
God's  people  stronger  or  more  joyous  than  that  which 
comes  of  the  practice  of  this  law.  An  honored  Bishop 
of  the  Moravian  Church  tells  us  that  he  began 
kouse-keeping  thirty  years  ago  on  a  salary  of  $350. 
He  began  to  tithe  then  and  has  maintained  it  until 
now.  He  has  frequently  given  more  than  the  tenth, 
He  has  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  have 
adopted  God’s  law  of  tithing.  One  of  these,  a  son, 
has  been  supported  for  three  years  at  a  theological 
seminary.  He  says:  “I  have  never  known  want, 
though  I  haye  often  had  more  in  the  Lord’s  treasury 
than  in  my  pocket-book.  We  have  had  many  luxuries, 
too,  not  the  least  of  which  is  knowing  the  blessedness 
of  giving.”  This  is  one  instance  in  many  and  they  are 
all  practically  alike.  Who  can  be  a  loser  in  obeying 
God’s  Word.  Would  God,  many  more  had  their  feet 
turned  to  his  testimonies  in  this  thing !  I  have  never 
known  a  man,  poor  or  well  to  do,  who  adopted  the 
Scripture  tithe  who  did  not  joy  in  it,  and  whom  God  did 
not. bless  far  beyond  his  expectation.  But  of  this  again. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  tithe  law  in  the 
order  of  it.  When  one  has  a  Lord’s  treasury,  a  Lord’s 


11  — 


portion  sacredly  and  statedly  set  aside,  he  will  realize 
that  he  is  keeping  an  account  with  God,  that  he  is  en¬ 
trusted  with  means  for  the  disbursement  of  which  he 
must  seek  his  guidance. 

Of  course  there  are  fixed  institutions  in  the 
Church,  such  as  Mission  and  other  Boards,  which 
greatly  aid  here.  Just  for  the  lack  of  this  wise  law 
and  a  corresponding  disbursement  many  give  but  a 
mite  to  benevolence  in  their  own  Church,  and  some¬ 
times  with  a  measure  of  generosity  to  other  things, 
with  little  help,  sometimes  harm,  because  giving  is 
haphazard,  a  notion,  an  impulse,  instead  of  an  act  of 
faith  and  devotion  to  Christ.  With  the  Lord’s  own 
tenth  put  aside  one  is  never  at  a  loss  to  know  whether 
he  can  or  cannot  afford  to  give  to  any  cause  that 
makes  appeal.  If  there  is  still  something  to  the  Lord’s 
credit,  he  knows  what  to  do,  and  the  conscience  is  at 
ease.  This  principle  of  order  is  not  my  invention, 
I  have  thrown  away  my  inventions.  It  is  a  matter  of 
Scripture,  The  “tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord.” 
“Let  every  one  of  us  lay  by  him  in  store.”  Let  us 
follow  God’s  Word,  sincerely  and  then  we  may  claim 
his  blessing,  then  there  will  be  no  lack,  no  crying  dis¬ 
tress  in  any  part  of  the  Church’s  work.  Paul  com¬ 
mends  this  principle  of  order.  The  Corinthian  Chris¬ 
tians  were  abundant  in  promises,  but  confused  and 
spare  in  giving.  ‘  They  began  well,  but  they  had  no 
giving  covenant  with  God,  they  were  robbing  him, 
and  so  we  discover  the  secret  of  their  becoming  carnal. 
It  distressed  the  Apostle.  He  had  commended  them, 


12  - 


and  with  this  failure,  he  feared  his  word  would  be 
questioned,  and  the  cause  of  his  Master  thereby  in¬ 
jured.  By  all  means,  whether  we  adopt  the  Old 
Testament  law  or  the  New  Testament  teaching,  let  us 
have  system,  order  in  our  giving.  That  will  take  in¬ 
difference  out  of  it,  it  will  show  recognition  of  God  in 
what  we  have,  and  in  what  we  do ;  our  giving  will  be¬ 
come  a  grace,  an  act  of  worship,  and  always  a  blessing. 

Again,  the  tithe  has  the  advantage  of  a  fixed  sum. 
It  is  comforting  to  feel  that  we  are  right  in  any  method 
adopted  for  the  observance  of  Christian  duty.  It  is 
not  always  easy  to  determine  one's  duty  in  the  meas¬ 
ure  of  giving.  A  Lord’s  treasury  into  which  an  ap¬ 
pointed  amount  is  placed  will  help  to  determine  it. 
Wonderful,  abundant  as  God’s  mercies  are,  renewed 
night  and  morning,  there  is  so  much  of  incident  and 
circumstance  influencing  our  life,  that  there  is  danger 
that  we  may  not  always  be  accurate  in  giving  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  measure  of  blessing.  Besides,  is  there  not 
some  opportunity  for  pretext  and  selfishness  which 
we  would  do  well  not  to  encourage,  when  other  meth¬ 
ods  than  the  tithe  is  adopted?  I  am  certain  that, 
however  limited  we  may  be  in  our  resources,  the 
amount  will  not  be  hurtfully  diminished,  but  increased, 
often  strangely  increased,  by  the  sincere  trustful  sur¬ 
render  of  one  tenth  to  the  Lord. 

But  it  may  be  argued  that  we  -are  under  grace 
and  not  under  the  law.  It  is  true,  but  the  force  of 
the  assertion  in  this  case  will  depend  entirely  on  our 
purpose  in  making  it.  If  it  is  meant  to  be  a  pretext. 


—  13  — 


then  the  argument  fails,  for  that  would  intimate  that 
we  are  to  give  and  do  less  in  the  new  dispensation  so 
much  more  bountiful,  than  in  the  old  dispensation  so 
much  more  limited. 

But  let  us  look  a  moment  at  the  teaching  of  the 
New  Testament  on  this  subject.  The  Apostle  ex¬ 
pounds  it  with  the  clearness  and  fervor  that  charac¬ 
terizes  him  in  setting  before  the  Church  the  great 
doctrine  of  Justification,  or  in  attempting  to  reach  the 
supernal  heights  of  the  Christian’s  privileges  in  Christ. 

“Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  every  one  of 
you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him.” 
1.  Cor.  i6:  2.  Here  is  a  high  and  beautiful  standard 
of  giving.  Paul  believes  in  a  fixed  orderly  purpose, 
just  as  going  to  God’s  house  and  prayer  should  be 
such  a  purpose.  Notice  the  scope  of  it:  “Let  every 
one  of  you.”  If  giving  is  a  grace,  a  form  of  worship, 
who  is  exempt?  The  Church,  nor  any  one  has  a  right 
to  hinder  or  release  any  poorest  child  of  God  from  the 
privilege  of  giving,  though  it  be  but  a  mite.  It  is  in 
the  face  of  God’s  truth,  the  pretext  of  unbelief  to 
claim  that  any  poorest  man  can  be  made  poorer,  by 
giving  back  to  God  what  is  his  own.  Does  that  poor 
man  or  woman  wish  to  bind  God  to  his  promise  of 
blessing?  Then  it  is  the  worst  of  unbelief  to  say:  “I 
don’t  believe  God  when  it  comes  to  giving.  Here  I 
will  step  back  and  keep  the  hard  earned  little  I  have, 
let  the  rich  give.”  That  is  practical  atheism.  That 
is  the  spirit  that  cries  for  the  release  of  the  robber 
and  asks  that  Christ  be  crucified.  While  it  is  expressly 


—  14  — 


declared  that  a  gift  “is  accepted  according  to  that  a 
man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not,” 
2,  Cor.  8:  12^  it  is  stated  no  less  distinctly  that  we, 
not  some,  but  all  of  God’s  children  are  to  “abound  in 
this  grace  also.”  Dr.  Howard  Crosby  was  right  when 
he  said:  “The  poor  man  should  no  more  omit  giving, 
on  account  of  his  poverty,  than  the  illiterate  man 
should  give  up  his  praying,  because  of  his  bad  gram¬ 
mar.”  The  Apostle  most  impressively  touches  upon 
this  very  point  when  in  speaking  of  the  churches  of 
Macedonia  he  says:  “Moreover,  brethren,  we  make 
known  to  you  the  grace  of  God  which  hath  been  given 
in  the  churches  of  Macedonia;  how  that  in  muchproof 
of  affliction  the  abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep 
poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality. 
For  according  to  their  power,  I  bear  witness,  yea 
and  beyond  their  power,  they  gave  of  their  own  ac¬ 
cord,  beseeching  us  with  much  entreaty  in  regard  of 
this  grace  and  the  fellowship  in  the  ministering  to  the 
saints.”  2.  Cor.  8 :  i — 4.  R.  V.  Their  country  had  been 
desolated  by  war,  and  then  oppressed  by  intolerable 
taxation,  they  were  in  extreme  poverty,  but  they  kept 
covenant  with  God,  and  Paul  was  overjoyed  and 
amazed  at  the  measure  of  their  noble  Scriptural  giving. 
It  is  a  sublime  testimony,  not  from  the  rich,  but 
from  the  poor  and  an  example  worthy  of  the  widest 
imitation. 

It  is  unusual  until  we  know  what  was  behind  it. 
“First  they  gave  their  ownselves  unto  the  Lord,  and 
to  us  by  the  will  of  God.”  2.  Cor.  8:  5.  R.  V.  This 


—  15 


surrender  clears  away  all  difficulty.  It  blushes  out  of 
sight  all  unholy  motive,  both  in  the  giver,  and  in  any 
method  that  may  be  adopted.  The  appeal  is  not  to  the 
flesh,  but  to  the  spiritual  man ;  not  to  curiosity,  but 
to  faith,  the  method  is  not  any  longer  man’s  inven¬ 
tion,  it  is  God’s  revelation.  It  is  easy  to  give,  a  real 
joy,  where  the  heart  leads.  Paul  will  not  isolate  this 
grace,  he  will  not  mark  it  an  exception  in  the  noble 
line,  which  one  may  omit,  if  there  should  be  aversion 
to  it,  or  if  some  one  should  count  it  inconvenient. 
“^But  as  ye  abound  in  everything,  in  faith,  and  ut¬ 
terance  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  earnestness  and  in 
your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also.” 
2.  Cor.  8:  /.  R.  V.  Paul  wants  a  complete  Church 
and  a  complete  character.  Least  of  all  would  he 
have  the  Christ-like  grace  omitted.  He  highly  appre¬ 
ciates  the  love  his  Corinthian  brethren  bore  to  him,  it 
is  a  real  comfort  to  him,  but  he  knows  that  lack  in 
this  grace  he  is  commending,  would  turn  their  love 
into  selfishness,  and  leave  them  hampered  and  incom¬ 
plete.  He  will  speak  with  emphasis:  “But  this  I 
say.  He  that  sow^eth  sparingly  shall  reap  also  sparingly  ; 
and  he  that  soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  also  bounti¬ 
fully.”  2.  Cor.g:  6.  R,  V.  Butin  whatever  di¬ 
rection  we  start  we  must  return  to  the  giving  of  our¬ 
selves  to  the  Lord.  We  cannot  wrest  the  observance 
of  this  grace  from  any  one.  “Let  each  man  do  ac¬ 
cording  as  he  hath  purposed  in  his  heart ;  not  grudg¬ 
ingly,  or  of  necessity ;  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver.”  2.  Cor,  g:  y.  R.  V.  God  takes  an  account 


—  16 


of  giving  when  it  means  faith,  love,  homage  and  obe¬ 
dience  in  us.  There  is  still  another  comforting  as 
well  as  instructive  thought  to  which  the  Apostle  al¬ 
ludes.  There  are  many  generous  souls,  who  long  to 
give,  but  know  not  how ;  there  are  others  to  whose 
nature  giving  is  not  a  luxury,  but  a  task,  they  must  be 
enticed  into  it,  they  must  needs  condition  it  on  varied 
circumstances,  as  if  it  were  a  green  apple  to  be  coaxed 
to  the  ripening,  and  yet  sometimes  they  wish  it  were 
otherwise.  To  all  such,  we  say,  carry  your  care  to 
Jesus.  Remember  the  spirit  is  everything.  Many  a 
humble,  lowly  saint  is  a  great  giver  when  the  offering 
is  the  merest  mite.  Does  not  the  Apostle  meet  the 
case  when  he  says:  “God  is  able  to  make  all  grace 
abound  unto  you  ;  that  ye  having  all  sufficiency  in 
everything,  may  abound  unto  every  good  work.”  2. 
Cor.  g:  8.  R.  V.  As  we  go  to  God  for  faith  and 
holiness,  let  us  go  for  deliverance  from  a  selfish  and 
ungenerous  heart ;  let  us  depend  upon  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  w'ork  this  grace  as  any  other  in  us,  and  in  ways 
surprising  God  will  supply  our  need  here  as  elsewhere. 
Clearly,  then,  here  is  a  grace  which,  instead  of  ap¬ 
proaching  it  with  aversion  as  if  it  were  a  dead  man’s 
hand,  or  shyly  as  if  it  were  a  robber  in  the  dark,  we 
should  welcome  as  a  blessed  privilege,  a  grace  that 
consents  to  God’s  will  and  makes  us  like  him. 

Assured  Blessings. 

We  think  it  quite  possible  that  it  will  be  difficult 
to  name  an}"  grace  or  Christian  service  more  marked 


—  17  — 


and  abundant  in  blessing,  than  Scriptural  giving.  It 
must  be  so  for  it  is  God-like,  and  carries  with  it  the 
expression  and  exercise  of  the  other  graces.  “It  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.”  Acfs  20:  3§. 
God  is  pleased  to  make  right  giving  a  pre-eminent  in¬ 
strument  of  good  doing.  By  his  own  strange  way  of 
multiplying  our  gifts,  it  is  difficult  to  put  limit  to 
their  service  for  his  cause.  Notice  a  few  which  easily 
come  within  our  observation. 

First.  Scriptural  giving  will  cleanse  the  Church 
of  all  unseemly  methods  of  getting  money,  and  insure 
an  ample  sum  for  all  purposes. 

The  dignity  and  purity  of  the  Church  have  often 
been  more  than  marred  by  secular  and  selfish  methods 
of  giving.  She  has  often  thus  been  made  a  witness  to 
unbelief,  to  mistrust  of  God,  rather  than  of  faith  in  him-. 
Instead  of  following  his  way,  the  Church  has  often  been 
degraded  to  the  ways  of  human  invention,  worthy  more 
than  once  to  be  styled  the  methods  of  human  folly.  Ap¬ 
petite,  sensuous  tastes,  and  selfish  inclination  have  been 
appealed  to,  until,  in  many  instances,  instead  of  ob¬ 
taining  a  blessing,  a  disgust  for  things  sacred  has  been 
awakened.  It  is  a  shame  to  hear  the  jingle  of  the  money 
changers  in  the  house  of  God,  all  because  there  is  so 
little  faith  in  his  promises,  such  a  spare  recognition 
of  stewardship,  and  so  much  disposition  to  care  for 
self,  and  to  withhold  from  God  that  which  is  his  due 
and  we  should  cheerfully  lay  on  his  altar.  It  has  been 
our  privilege  frequently  to  officiate  at  church  dedica¬ 
tions.  After  the  discourse,  some  other  brother,  sup- 


—  18  — 


posed  to  have  rare  gifts  for  the  work,  has  taken  his 
place  in  chancel  or  pulpit,  and,  with  preliminary  state¬ 
ments  disposed  of,  he  has  commenced  what  to  some  in 
the  audience  was  the  fun  of  it.  After  the  deliverance 
of  such  wit  and  humor  as  he  could  command,  and  the 
tossing  of  the  debt  from  one  side  of  the  house  to  the 
other  as  a  rubber  ball,  and  a  real  good  time,  it  was 
announced  that  the  debt  was  provided  for,  and  to  the 
Church  at  large  the  fact  was  proclaimed  as  a  great 
success.  No!  it  was  not  a  success  ;  it  was  a  failure, 
for  the  Holy  Ghost  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The 
Holy  Ghost  never  identifies  himself  with  such  per¬ 
formances,  and  as  for  the  sermon,  it  had  as  well  not 
have  been  preached,  for  all  impression  made  was  dissi¬ 
pated.  This  was  neither  an  obedience  to  Scripture  nor 
an  expression  of  faith  in  God»  All  unscriptural  giving 
closes  instead  of  opening  the  heavens  to  the  descent 
of  God’s  blessing.  Whenever  the  Church  comes  to 
believe  and  honor  God’s  Word  here  as  elsewhere,  there 
will  not  be  an  empty  Board  and  Church  treasury  in 
our  Zion,  and  there  never  will  be  a  full  one  until  this 
faith  and  obedience  become  a  more  general  experience 
among  us* 

Let  us  come  to  the  abiding  Word  again.  It  will 
answer  us  if  we  are  disposed  to  question  these  state¬ 
ments,  it  will  confirm  us  if  we  only  desire  to  know  the 
truth — Mai  3:  lo:  “Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the 
storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and 
prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I 
will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour 


—  19  — 


you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough 
to  receive  it.’’ 

What  a  really  wonderful  and  assuring  promise 
that  is !  May  the  Spirit  give  all  his  ministers  and 
people  to  realize  its  fullness.  Where  is  there  another 
like  it?  “I  will  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven.” 
The  windows — and  see — there  is  more  than  one,  and 
God  will  throw  them  all  up  for  the  man,  for  the  home, 
for  the  Church  that  honors  him  in  tithe  giving.  The 
blessing  will  not  be  any  wasting  rivulet  as  it  rolls  over 
the  stones,  but  a  flood  poured  out  as  if  there  were  an 
ocean  hard  by,  or  a  deep  well  that  could  not  be  ex¬ 
hausted  by  any  number  of  consumers.  We  stint,  we 
rob  God,  in  the  home  and  in  the  Church  ;  in  a  straight 
— we  cut  off  the  cause  of  missions  first — and  then  ex¬ 
pect  God’s  blessing  on  our  souls,  in  home,  and  store, 
and  oftice.  Expect  it  when  we  have  quit  trusting  him, 
when  we  have  struck  Scriptural  giving  from  the  list  of 
our  graces,  when  we  have  erased  this  bountiful  promise 
from  the  Book,  and  pulled  all  the  windows  of  heaven 
down.  Is  it  strange  many  prosper  in  their  selfishness, 
are  carnal  in  their  lives,  and  weak  and  sickly  in  the 
sanctuary  of  God? 

It  is  very  suggestive,  we  may  not  stop  now  to  en¬ 
ter  into  any  discussion  about  it,  we  just  gladly  affirm  it 
on  the  testimony  of  God’s  unfailing  Word,  that  he  has 
hinged  very  great  blessing  for  ourselves  and  the  Church 
on  our  humble  and  faithful  observance  of  the  tithe  law. 
We  may  offset  it  with  our  own  wisdom  and  way,  but 
we  shall  certainly  be  the  losers  in  such  a  case.  I  know 


20  — 


very  well  that  millions  on  millions  of  money  could  not 
purchase  a  spiritual  quickening,  but  I  know  too  that 
giving  in  the  Scriptural  spirit  and  way  means  obed¬ 
ience,  faith,  prayer,  living  with  God,  familiarity  with 
his  Word,  and  these  mean  an  open  heaven  and  an  out¬ 
pour  of  God’s  blessing  beyond  what  we  ask  or  think. 

How'  certainly  this  great  promise  of  God  is  ful¬ 
filled  to  his  children  they  know,  who  have  trusted  and 
proven  it.  We  are  prepared  to  say  first  of  all  on  the 
testimony  of  God’s  Word,  and  then  of  experience,  that 
in  blessing  on  one’s  soul  and  life,  nothing  surpasses 
the  grace  and  ministry  of  giving.  The  reason  is  not 
far  to  find.  It  is  such  an  exercise  sincerely  entered 
into,  such  a  holy  covenant  with  God,  that  the  self¬ 
nature  is  apt  to  come  to  the  end  of  itself ;  there  is  no 
room  for  making  provision  for  the  flesh  in  such  a  case  ; 
crucified  with  Christ,  entering  into  fellowship  with 
him  in  complete  self-surrender,  we  die  to  all  fleshly 
and  selfish  demands.  We  have  nothing  we  did  not 
receive  from  God,  and  we  will  not  rest  until  in  this 
blessed  self-denying  obedience,  we  are  filled  with  him¬ 
self.  What  holy  immortal  mastery  this  often  gives  to 
the  humblest  and  poorest  of  God’s  children,  as  well  as 
to  some  more  favored.  A  little  while  ago  Mrs.  Julia 
Bedell  of  New  York  died.  She  was  a  worthy  stewardess. 
She  might  have  figured  in  society  and  so  wasted  her 
substance.  She  chose  a  better  way.  In  her  will  she 
bequeathed  $85,000  to  various  religious  bodies.  Her 
will  closes  with  this  significant  prayer:  “And  thus, 
O  Lord,  our  Heavenly  Father,  having  returned  to 


—  21  — 


thee  as  best  I  can,  the  trust  thou  hast  committed  to 
my  care,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit.  Utterly 
unworthy  in  myself  of  any  mercy,  I  hope  for  salvation 
only  in  the  atonement  of  my  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  1  know  whom 
I  have  believed,  and  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which 
I  have  committed  to  him,  and  I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death  nor  life,  nor  angels  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor 
height  nor  depth,  nor  any  creature  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God.”  This  was  the 
residue  of  her  estate  after  those  who  had  claims  upon 
her  had  been  provided  for.  She  was  a  giving  Christian. 

Neither  in  life  nor  in  death  would  she  keep  from 
God  his  due.  No  wonder  her  faith  was  so  well  founded 
and  her  hope  so  ample.  A  beautiful  blessed  life  was 
hers  !  Not  because  God  enabled  her  to  give  so  great 
a  sum  at  last,  but  because  of  her  constant  recognition 
of  Him  in  what  he  gave  her,  in  her  obedience  and 
faith,  in  a  life  laid  on  his  altar.  We  could  produce  in¬ 
stances  in  our  own  beloved  Church  of  a  like  kind.  It 
is  the  privilege  of  the  poorest,  and  nothing  is  more 
beautiful  in  Christian  experience  and  history,  than 
just  such  Scriptural  living  and  giving  by  multitudes 
of  God’s  poor  ones,  to  some  of  whom  we  are  blessed 
in  being  allowed  to  minister. 

“And  all  these  blessings  shall  come  on  thee,  and 
overtake  thee,  if  thou  shalt  hearken  unto  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  thy  God. 


22  — 


Blessed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  city,  and  blessed 
shalt  thou  be  in  the  field. 

Blessed  shall  be  the  fruit  of  thy  body,  and  the 
fruit  of  thy  ground,  and  the  fruit  of  thy  cattle,  the 
increase  of  thy  kine,*  and  the  flocks  of  thy  sheep. 

Blessed  shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy  store. 

Blessed  shalt  thou  be  when  thou  comest  in,  and 
blessed  shalt  thou  be  when  thou  goest  out. 

The  Lord  shall  command  the  blessing  upon  thee 
in  thy  storehouses,  and  in  all  that  thou  settest  thine 
hand  unto ;  and  he  shall  bless  thee  in  the  land  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.”  Deut.  28 :  3 — d,  8, 

“Honour  the  Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with 
the  first  fruits  of  all  thine  increase. 

So  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty,  and  thy 
presses  shall  burst  open  with  new  wine.”  Py'ov.j  10. 

Zion  languisheth,  the  chariot  wheels  drag  slow, 
the  world  derides  the  weakness  of  the  Church  and 
stalks  through  her  sanctities  irreverent  as  a  wild  boar 
out  of  the  woods  through  a  garden,  the  family  altar  is 
in  ruin  in  many  homes,  many  of  God’s  people  have 
broken  covenant  with  their  Lord  and  Redeemer,  and 
with  all  this  has  come  a  distaste  for  spiritual  things. 
Is  there  not  some  considerable  remedy  in  adherence 
to  God’s  demand  to  bring  the  tithes  into  his  house,  to 
prove  him  in  this  blessed  ministry,  and  claim  and  ex¬ 
pect  his  bountiful  blessing?  The  revival  that  is  to 
bring  backsliders  back  and  the  unsaved  home  to  God, 
will  not  precede  the  one  in  Scriptural,  spiritual  giving. 

We  have  no  thought  that  any  one  will  come  to 


—  23 


right  views  upon  this  subject  apart  from  the  teaching 
of  God’s  Word  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  whole  trouble 
about  it  is  with  ourselves.  Our  unbelief,  our  limited 
consecration  is  in  the  way.  Multitudes  fear  to  step 
fairly  out  on  God’s  promises  and  trust  him.  Let  us 
go  alone  with  God,  and  allow  him  to  search  us  as  with 
a  lighted  candle,  and  see  if  it  be  not  so.  Andrew 
Murray  tells  of  one  of  his  co-workers,  Rev.  Mr.  Fur- 
geson,  who  said  to  him  when  he  was  dying,  that  he 
had  been  meditating  on  that  beautiful  Scripture: 
‘‘Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow.”  As  he  thought  he  said,  one  seemed 
to  say  to  him:  White  as  snow^’*  “do  you  know 

wdiat  that  is?”  He  answered:  “No,  Lord,  thou  only 
knowest,  I  do  not.”  Then  came  another  question: 
“Are  you  willing  that  I  should  do  it?”  “Yes,  Lord, 
by  thy  grace  I  am  willing,”  said  the  dying  man. 
Here  is  the  secret  of  the  difficulty  and  the  method  of 
removal.  Look  at  yonder  Cross  and  ask  whether  you 
know  what  Christian  giving  is?  Shall  we  not  have 
to  answer:  “No,  Lord,  thou  knowest.”  Then  shall 
it  be  asked:  “Can  you  attain  to  it.”  There  is  only 
one  answer;  “No,  Lord,  thou  canst.”  And  shall  we 
now  follow  with  the  test  question:  “Are  you  willing 
that  I  should  do  it?”  Shall  we  not  say:  “Yes,  Lord, 
by  thy  grace,  I  am  willing.” 

I  surely  would  not  presume  to  be  a  law  to  any 
other  one.  I  only  have  sought  to  enforce  the  truth 
and  spirit  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  great  grace  of  giv¬ 
ing.  I  am  confident  of  the  advantage  and  blessing  of 


—  24  — 


the  method  I  have  urged.  Never  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  was  it  practiced  by  so  many.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  facts  of  our  time.  If  I  could  order  the 
homes  of  our  young  people,  if  I  could  counsel  all  the 
poor,  I  would  say,  give  your  hearts  and  lives  to  Christ, 
live  without  waste,  trust  and  obey  God,  cheerfully 
give  back  to  him  his  portion,  and  then  claim  and  en¬ 
joy  his  blessing.  Giving  is  a  really  great  word.  It 
is  not  far  from  God.  There  is  blood  on  it.  God  waits 
by  his  Spirit  to  work  this  grace  in  us  as  well  as  any 
other.  Give  him  the  heart  and  allow  him  to  do  what 
he  would.  We  shall  see  the  face  of  the  King  when  our 
consecration  will  permit  us  to  obey  and  trust  God  in 
this  grace  which  so  involves  and  absorbs  the  inner  life. 

Oh,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  lift  all  up  to  the 
high  place  of  motive  and  power  the  Apostle  has  taken 
in  enforcing  the  grace  of  giving !  “Ye  know  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  he  was  rich, 
yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his 
poverty  might  be  rich.'’  Dear  reader,  do  you  know 
that  ?  It  is  the  sublimest  expression  of  self-denial ; 
it  is  God’s  own  heart  laid  bare ;  it  is  the  secret  of  the 
power  of  a  Scriptural-giving  Christian;  it  is  Paul’s 
unanswerable  argument  crowned  and  sealed  by  the 
blood  of  the  Cross. 


